'You can come out now ',said the guard loudly. He was Bernard's
size and
obviously a Beta minus. Cautiously the two friends stepped out
of the
helicopter and took their first look at this mysterious new world.The
first thing they saw was the green of the woods and meadows. Cows
were
grazing freely all over the place.'They must have broken out of
the
cow-factory', Bernard thought,'but these strange people, sitting
in the
shadows of their primitive huts, don't even seem to care about
this'.
There was a noise behind them ,so they turned around and saw the
helicopter rising into the air. Now there was no way back. They
were
totally isolated from the outside world. The two men looked at
each other
and Helmholtz saw the hysteria arising in Bernard's eyes. A voice
interrupted their silent communication. 'Are you from the Far-away
land?'
A little boy looked at them curiously with big brown eyes.The
wind was
blowing through his unkempt black hair.He wore leather clothes
and was
barefooted. Helmholtz wondered why this little boy had been left
alone and
where his erotic playmates had gone.'Have you lost your group?'
The boy
glanced at him in friendly astonishment.'What group are you talking
about?
Ah, if you mean my Mum ',he pointed to a young woman sitting in
the shadow
of her hut,'she is over there. Come with me.'

'Albert ,I see you've brought some guests.' The woman looked at
them with
a warm smile of welcome.'So you are the new arrivers. You must
be
surprised by this view. I am sure you are wondering what will
expect you
here. Can I offer you something?' Helmholtz was surprised indeed.
This
lady who, to his eyes, appeared quite beautiful had to be the
viviparous
mother of the little boy Albert. At once he asked himself if this
was just
an exception or if all women became viviparous mothers as soon
as they
lived there. This was too much for Bernard, who looked as if he
had gone
mad, and even Helmholtz needed a few seconds to recover his speech.
'Yes,
we are the new ones. If you don't mind ,I'd like to ask you some
questions.' The dainty woman smiled at him and nodded. 'Just ask
me, I
hope I can help you. Oh, maybe I should first of all introduce
myself to
you. I am Sheila Morrison and this is my son Albert .' 'There
it is
again', Bernard thought nervously,' she really wants to tell us
that this
is her son and she does not even seem to feel a bit ashamed; more
or less
she seems to be proud of him.' Helmholtz started talking again.
'Oh, yes,
sorry, I am Helmholtz Watson and this is my friend Bernard Marx.
Well, it
seems so, so, excuse me, but the surroundings really appear to
be quite
primitive here .Don't you make use of any technology? ' Sheila
nodded
again, as though as she had anticipated that question .'Of course
it seems
primitive to you, but this is only a deceptive facade.The best
will be if
I tell you a little bit about our history. Now, just listen .'
The two men
sat down and and looked curiously at Sheila as she began to speak
.

'As you know, there was a world war in 2336, or in A.F.428 . I'm
sure they
told you that it lasted 10 years, but they never told you the
truth about
it. Island inhabitants learn much more about history than you
do. Well
,the people in 2300 began to go almost insane ,as they invented
more and
more things and methods to manipulate life. Then in 2330 our government
even created a new system, which should be based on cloning .They
promised
that it would be a very efficient system with different types
of human
beings whose intellectual levels could be controlled . When they
had got
through with this plan and started to clone babies, other countries
wanted
to fight for the miracle of life . So the world war began . Since
the
government created more and more deadly weapons and ways of influencing
people, they finally won. Many of us were killed, but we were
still a
danger to them, so they brought us to islands where we could live
our own
lives.They went on cloning, and that is why we still get our children
in
the natural way; life is still a miracle, and it is sanctified
. People
have the freedom of speech and worship, everybody is equal and
has the
same rights .But I tell you one thing you should really keep in
mind ',the
softness in her eyes began to disappear,' don't ever even think
about
cloning anything living here. Some men from the other world started
to do
so and instigated a brutal civil war in which half of the island
population was killed. The rest is up to you ,discover it on your
own.'

During the next weeks Helmholtz and Bernard tried to adjust themselves
to
the new way of life. Two small huts, which were not that primitive
as
Helmholtz had imagined them to be, had been allotted to them.Bernard
even
began to like the life on the Island. He was no longer an outsider
there
,not everybody looked like an Alpha double plus, and it was normal
to look
different, for everybody was different. He loved to take walks
through the
crowded streets on the weekends, just watching people go to their
churches
and the markets.He read books about the Island's religion and
art, which
was just normal for the people there. He found out why it had
been
prohibited to read such books in the other world.The Island also
seemed to
please Helmholtz .His dream finally came true when a newspaper
offered him
a job as an editor. Moreover,he often met with Sheila, and it
was obvious
that they were becoming a couple.

One evening they sat together with Bernard in front of Helmholtz's
hut and
were having dinner.Suddenly a boy passed by with his dog . The
two men
stared at him . 'I could swear I know this boy, but I have never
seen him
here ', Bernard murmured to Helmholtz, 'Yes, I know him too, but
this just
can't be true'. 'What shocks you? That's Dave Ahpatsum, just a
normal boy
who lives with his mother and his sister next to my house. His
father must
be dead.' Bernard and Helmholtz were silent, and they just looked
at each
other in astonishment. Both knew exactly who this boy resembled,
but they
did not dare to say it loudly. 'But sometimes ', Sheita continued,'a
man
comes to visit them . He seems to live somewhere in the woods
. He always
comes from that direction .' She pointed towards the woods, which
could be
seen far away on the horizon, where the sun was setting right
then.
Hetmholtz pricked up his ears .'A man? Do you know more about
him,
Sheila?' 'Hm, well, I have spoken to him just once, but this was
long ago.
He does not talk very much, except to children. I remember that
he was
reading quite an old book and he seemed to be very educated .Sometimes
he
gathered children around him and taught them history and told
them about
former times. At the moment he does not seem to come any more.
The last
time I saw him was weeks ago.' Bernard and Helmholtz understood
one
another without saying anything. They knew exactly why the man
did not
come, but did not lose any more word about their suspicion in
Sheila's
presence.They changed the topic of their conversation and talked
about
Bernard's new job. He worked as a real scientist in a science
center and
seemed to enjoy his new occupation, which had been forbidden in
the old
world.

'Would he really do this ? Live here with the expellees?' Bernard
was
upset. 'Well, it's risky, but he likes books, science, art and
everything
else, which is not prohibited here,' Helmholtz reminded him. 'So,
you mean
they all don't want to live over there themselves, sitting in
their world
of steel and abusing mankind? Oh, if this should be true, John
was really
right :'Brave new world'.' Helmholtz nodded, 'But for us it will
be better
if we let the grass grow over it and don't think about it any
longer.'

A few weeks later Helmholtz came from his work to visit Bernard.They
wanted to go to an assembly for scientists in exile. The sun was
only a
small red ball in the sky and it was getting dark.It did not take
very
long to go into the city,so they went on foot.As they went down
the small
path which led along the woods behind Sheila's house, they saw
Sheila's
neighbours sitting on their terrace.Everything would have been
fine if
there had not been that man among the two children and their mother.He
was
tall,one arm was put around the woman, and with the other one
he held a
book from which he seemed to read something aloud to his family.
'Perhaps
he tells them how bad the other world is or he reads what John
had always
liked. Something which this big shot had laughed at',Helmholtz
remembered,
'Shakespeare .' Lost in thought he just stood there and watched
'his
fordship' with mixed feelings of disregard, anger and astonishment.
Their
suspicion had been confirmed.